Connection of a window pane to a frame

ABSTRACT

In combination: a frame defining a window opening and having flange means surrounding the opening, clamping means of substantially U-shaped profile straddling the flange means and having first and second legs extending substantially parallel to the flange means and respectively on opposite sides thereof, sealing strip means of elastic material and mounted on the frame and flange means and having a first recess therein, a window pane received in the first recess, the clamping means also having a ridge extending therefrom adjacent the bottom of the profile in a direction away from the window pane and the first leg of the profile which is located on that side of the flange means which faces away from the window pane, the sealing strip means having a second recess for receiving the flange means and clamping means including the ridge.

[ 51 Apr. 24, 11.973

[ 1 CONNECTION OF A WINDOW PANE TO A FRAME Karl Erck, Wolfsburg, Germany[73] Assignee: Volkswagenwerlt Aktiengesellschaft,

Wolfsburg, Germany 22 Filed: N0v.23, 1970 21 Appl. No.: 91,686

[75] Inventor:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 26, 1969 Germany ..P 1959295.1

[52] US. Cl ..52/400, 52/403 [51] Int. Cl. ..E06b 3/62 [58] Field ofSearch ..52/208, 397-400 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,191,988 6/1965 Sturtevant et a1, ..52/400 X 2,610,714 9/1952 Bradley..52/400 2,794,218 6/1957 Ramsay ..52/400 3,245,] 82 4/1966 Zierold..52/208 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,028,856 5/1966 Great Britain..52/400 1,185,073 1/1965 Gen'nany ....52/40O 1,104,672 4/1961 Germany....52/397 1,394,484 2/1965 France 52/400 Primary ExaminerAlfred C.Perham Att0rneyErnest F. Marmorek 5 7] ABSTRACT In combination: a framedefining a window opening and having flange means surrounding theopening, clamping means of substantially U-shaped profile straddling theflange means and having first and second legs extending substantiallyparallel to the flange means and respectively on opposite sides thereof,sealing strip means of elastic material and mounted on the frame andflange means and having a first recess therein, a window pane receivedin the first recess, the clamping means also having a ridge extendingtherefrom adjacent the bottom of the profile in a direction away fromthe window pane and the first leg of the profile which is located onthat side of the flange means which faces away from the window pane, thesealing strip means having a second recess for receiving the flangemeans and clamping means including the ridge.

18 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented A ril 24, 1973 3,728,832

FIG. 3

INVENTOR':

e Ema, BY

CONNECTION OF A WINDOW PANE TO A FRAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to a connection of a window pane to a frame,and more particularly, to the connection of a windshield of a motorvehicle to the vehicle body, by means of a sealing strip of elasticmaterial to a metal frame surrounding the window opening and with aflange therein; said flange being provided with a ridge running parallelto the edge of the flange at least on that side thereof which faces awayfrom the windshield. The ridge fits into a recess of the sealing strip.

In view of increasingly strict rules issued by governmental agencies toincrease the safety of the occupants of motor vehicles during accidents,increased attention has to be paid to the fitting of windows in vehiclebodies and particularly of Windshields in order to comply with thesegovernmental directives.

At the present time, window panes are frequently connected to the windowframe by means of a rubber sealing strip. For this purpose, the sealingstrip is provided with grooves in which are held on one hand the windowpane and on the other hand the window frame, by a resilient clampingforce. In order to increase the clamping and sealing effect, it is knownto place a filling strip in a further groove.

Furthermore, several methods have become known by which window panes,and especially Windshields are glued to the frame. However, from amanufacturing standpoint, such methods are inferior to those in whichthe window panes are clamped elastically rather than glued. Furthermore,it is considerably easier to replace an elastically clamped-in windowpane than one that has been glued in.

It is also known, for instance from German Pat. No. 1,185,073 to improvethe connection of the sealing strip on the flange by means of interposedconnecting means, especially one of U-shaped cross section. In thisinstance, a U-shaped resilient spring clamp with hooks which aredirected inwardly, against the direction of movement, are placed uponthe flange. The sealing strip, slipped over the spring clamp, is held bymeans of a decorative strip which, with one margin therof catchesbeneath the outer, angular leg of the spring clamp and with its othermargin into a groove located on the top side of the sealing strip. Thus,the seal is held in the window opening by means of the decorative strip.In view of the thus absolutely necessary decorative strip, this designis very expensive. Also, the hooks scratch the usuallycorrosion-resistant surface of the flange so that formation of rust isencouraged. Incidentally, this type of connection makes sense only ifthe window pane is arranged between the flange and the interior of thecar.

French Pat. No. 1,394,484 describes an arrangement in which the flangeof the metal frame is provided with a ridge pointing towards theinterior of the car, said ridge extending into a recess of the sealingstrip. The sealing strip, including the window pane clamped therein isheld in the metal frame even upon impact of a force acting on the insideof the window pane. This arrangement, however, has severaldisadvantages. This type of connection of the window pane cannotsubsequently be provided on vehicles the metal frame of which has only asimple flange but no lateral ridge. In

view of the traffic conditions today, however, it seems indicated toremodel older vehicles in such a manner that they can comply with thecurrent safety requirements. Furthermore, the production of metal framesas shown in the just-mentioned French patent is extremely difficultsince the lateral ridge provided on the flange is not located in thedirection in which the metal is drawn.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide aconnection of a window pane to a metal frame, especially the connectionof a windshield to a window frame, which will overcome all theabove-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore known such connections.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a connection ofthe just-mentioned type which can be used with older vehicles that canbe remodeled without great expense.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The problem underlying the present invention has been solved by anarrangement in which the ridge is provided on a spring clamp or clampingstrip placed upon the flange of the frame, with the spring clamp orclamping strip having a substantially U-shaped crosssection with one leglocated on that side of the flange which faces the window pane (outerside) and the other leg located on that side of the flange which facesaway from the window pane (inside) and from which the ridge extends.

Preferably, the ridge is arranged so that it extends substantially overthe entire length of the flange and that it forms with the flange at anangle of less than In this way, the safe connection of the sealing stripon the flange is further strengthened upon a force acting on the insideof the window pane.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated byway ofexample in the attached drawings, in which:

F IG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the profile of a spring clampaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a clamping strip designed in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a blank from which the clamping strip of FIG. 2 with theprofile of FIG. 1 can be made by a bending process;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section through a windshield frame of a motor vehiclewith a sealing strip and a spring clamp according to the presentinvention; and

FIG. 5 is a side view of a further embodiment of a spring clampaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TWO PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to thedrawing in detail, a plurality of individual, approximately U-shapedspring clamps l or 2 (FIGS. 1 and 5 respectively) are placed upon aflange 3 of the window opening in such a manner that a ridge 4 thereofprovided at the bottom of the clamp (between legs 5 and 6) extendslaterally therefrom in the direction towards the interior of thevehicle. Advantageously, the individual spring clamps 1 or 2 are placedfrom the outside on the flange 3 in such a manner that the left leg 5 ofthe U-shaped cross section abuts against the flange, with the legsomewhat longer than the right leg 6. With a slight blow on the bottomof the clamp, the spring clamps l or 2 are fixed on the flange 3.

In a particularly advantageous arrangement according to the presentinvention, a plurality of spring clamps may be combined to a clampingstrip. In this manner the time-consuming placement of a large number ofindividual clamps on the flange is replaced by the fast placement of afew clamping strips on the frame. This arrangement is shown in FIG. 2.The clamping strip which in profile cannot be distinguished from thespring clamp according to FIG. 1, is provided with cutout sections 7 inthe legs and in the ridge so that they adapt very well to the contour ofthe flange 3 where it is curved. Preferably, the cut-out sections 7 inthe ridge 4 are off-set with respect to those in the legs 5 and 6.

The spring clamp and the clamping strip are preferably designed in sucha manner that they may be produced, including the ridge, from apre-fabricated blank, solely by a bending process. FIG. 3 shows such ablank into which holes have been stamped which later become the cut-outsections 7. Upon bending, from this blank, the spring clamp according toFIG. 1 or the clamping strip of FIG. 2 is obtained. From a similar blank(not shown) also the spring clamp of FIG. 5 or a clamping strip of thesame profile, may be formed by a simple bending process. Whereas in thespring clamp l, the ridge 4 is formed from a double thickness of sheetmetal, and the right leg 6 from a single thickness, with the profile ofthe spring clamp 2 the reverse is the case.

The leg 6 of the spring clamp l (and that of the clamping stripaccording to FIG. 2) is bent in a direction towards the ridge 4 at itsfree end 8 in order to prevent during assembly damage to the interior ofthe car roof.

After the spring clamps or clamping strips have been mounted on theflange, the window 9 (FIG. 4) with the surrounding sealing strip 10 ispressed into the window opening of the car body against the flange 3. Bymeans of an assembly string or rope well known in the art, the holdinglip 11 of the seal strip 10 is pulled over the flange. During thisprocess, the ridge 4 of the spring clamp or the clamping strip becomescaught in a recess of the sealing strip 10 provided for this purpose andprevents the sealing strip from being pressed out of the window frameeven upon impact of a large force on the inside of the window pane 9.

The spring clamp or clamping strip according to the present inventionhas the further advantage that the interior decoration of the car roofcan be connected in a very simple manner in the area of the window. Themarginal strip of the decorative textile material is merely clamped bymeans of the spring clamp onto the flange and does not have to be gluedthereon. Asmentioned above, in order to prevent damage to this textilematerial during assembly, the interior leg of the U- shapedcross-section has its free end 8 bent in a direction towards the ridge.The assembly of the spring clamp is made even easier due to the factthat the outer leg 5 is somewhat longer than the inner leg 6.

In order to produce the ridge at the spring clamp or clamping strip,several possibilities exist. Thus, for instance, the ridge can be formedby extending or elongating the bottom of the U-shaped cross-section onthat side thereof which faces away from the window pane and by bendingit back to the starting point of the leg on that side (FIG. 1). On theother hand, it is possible to obtain the ridge by bending back that legof the spring clamp which is located on the side facing away from thewindow pane in the area of this leg up to the height of the bottom andby bending the same off at this point (FIG. 5).

From the above, it is apparent that although the invention has beendescribed hereinbefore with respect to certain specific embodimentsthereof, it is evident that many modifications and changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, by theappended claims, we intend to cover all such modifications and changesas fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In combination: frame means defining a window opening and havingflange means surrounding said opening, clamping means of substantiallyU-shaped profile straddling said flange means and having first andsecond legs extending substantially parallel to said flange means andrespectively on opposite sides thereof, sealing strip means of elasticmaterial and mounted on said frame means and flange means and having afirst recess therein, a window pane received in said first recess, saidclamping means also having a ridge extending therefrom adjacent thebottom of the profile in a direction away from said window pane and saidfirst leg of said profile which is located on that side of the flangemeans which faces away from said window pane, said sealing strip meanshaving a second recess for receiving said flange means and clampingmeans including said ridge.

7 than 90.

4. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said first leg of saidclamping means has its free end bent-off in a direction toward saidridge.

5. The combination according to claim 3, wherein said first leg has itsfree end bent off in a direction toward said ridge.

6. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said first leg isshorter than said second leg.

7. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said clamping means iscomposed of a large number of individual resilient clamps.

8. The combination according to claim 7, wherein several of saidresilient clamps are combined to a clamping strip. 7

9. The combination according to claim 8, wherein said clamping strip isprovided with a first series of cutout portions in said ridge which arespaced in longitudinal direction thereof, and a second series of cut-outportions provided in said first and second legs of said clamping strip,respectively spaced from each other in longitudinal direction of saidstrip.

10. The combination according to claim 9, wherein said first cut-outportions are off-set in longitudinal direction of said strip withrespect to said second cutout portions.

11. The combination according to claim 7, wherein each spring clampincluding said ridge is made from one blank by bending.

12. The combination according to claim 8, wherein said clamping stripincluding said ridge is made from one blank by bending.

13. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said ridge is formedby extending the material of the bottom of said U-shaped profile beyondsaid first leg and by bending the same back to the start of said firstleg adjacent said bottom.

14. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said ridge is formedby folding the material of said first leg upon itself and by bending thesame off adjacent said bottom.

15. The combination of claim 7, wherein said ridge is formed byextending the material of the bottom of said U-shaped profile beyondsaid first leg and by bending the same back to the start of said firstleg adjacent said bottom.

16. The combination according to claim 8, wherein said ridge is formedby extending the material of the bottom of said U-shaped profile beyondsaid first leg and by bending the same back to the start of said firstleg adjacent said bottom.

17. The combination according to claim 7, wherein said ridge is formedby folding the material of said first leg upon itself and by bending thesame off adjacent said bottom.

18. The combination according to claim 8, wherein said ridge is formedby folding the material of said first leg upon itself and by bending thesame off adjacent said bottom.

1. In combination: frame means defining a window opening and havingflange means surrounding said opening, clamping means of substantiallyU-shaped profile straddling said flange means and having first andsecond legs extending substantially parallel to said flange means andrespectively on opposite sides thereof, sealing strip means of elasticmaterial and mounted on said frame means and flange means and having afirst recess therein, a window pane received in said first recess, saidclamping means also having a ridge extending therefrom adjacent thebottom of the profile in a direction away from said window pane and saidfirst leg of said profile which is located on that side of the flangemeans which faces away from said window pane, said sealing strip meanshaving a second recess for receiving said flange means and clampingmeans including said ridge.
 2. The combination according to claim 1,wherein said ridge extends substantially over the entire length of saidflange means.
 3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein saidridge forms with said flange means an angle of less than 90*.
 4. Thecombination according to claim 1, wherein said first leg of saidclamping means has its free end bent-off in a direction toward saidridge.
 5. The combination according to claim 3, wherein said first leghas its free end bent off in a direction toward said ridge.
 6. Thecombination according to claim 1, wherein said first leg is shorter thansaid second leg.
 7. The combination according to claim 1, wherein saidclamping means is composed of a large number of individual resilientclamps.
 8. The combination according to claim 7, wherein several of saidresilient clamps are combined to a clamping strip.
 9. The combinationaccording to claim 8, wherein said clamping strip is provided with afirst series of cut-out portions in said ridge which are spaced inlongitudinal direction thereof, and a second series of cut-out portionsprovided in said first and second legs of said clamping strip,respectively spaced from each other in longitudinal direction of saidstrip.
 10. The combination according to claim 9, wherein said firstcut-out portions are off-set in longitudinal direction of said stripwith respect to said second cut-out portions.
 11. The combinationaccording to claim 7, wherein each spring clamp including said ridge ismade from one blank by bending.
 12. The combination according to claim8, wherein said clamping strip including said ridge is made from oneblank by bending.
 13. The combination according to claim 1, wherein saidridge is formed by extending the material of the bottom of said U-shapedprofile beyond said first leg and by bending the same back to the startof said first leg adjacent said bottom.
 14. The combination according toclaim 1, wherein said ridge is formed by folding the material of saidfirst leg upon itself and by bending the same off adjacent said bottom.15. The combination of claim 7, wherein said ridge is formed byextending the material of the bottom of said U-shaped profile beyondsaid first leg and by bending the same back to the start of said firstleg adjacent said bottom.
 16. The combination according to claim 8,wherein said ridge is formed by extending the material of the bottom ofsaid U-shaped profile beyond said first leg and by bending the same backto the start of said first leg adjacent said bottom.
 17. The combinationaccording to claim 7, wherein said ridge is formed by folding thematerial of said first leg upon itself and by bending the same offadjacent said bottom.
 18. The combination according to claim 8, whereinsaid ridge is formed by folding the material of said first leg uponitself and by bending the same off adjacent said bottom.